Method of producing yarn from textile fiber webs



Dec. 21, 1965 J. E. JOHNSON METHOD OF PRODUCING YARN FROM TEXTILE FIBER WEBS Filed Nov. 26, 1963 Wm mzaziwm @255 n M vw wwdfiww w w: Eo mzazmazou -w wmwww wwm dzEE; B 3; 15 J wmamiza 6:55;?

INVENTOR, D J 0 H NSON JAMES ELwoo BY g A'I'FRN EY United States Patent Ofiice 3,224,181 Patented Dec. 21, 1965 3,224,181 METHOD OF PRODUCING YARN FROM TEXTILE FIBER WEBS James Elwood Johnson, Gastonia, N.C., assignor to Gossett Machine Works, Inc., Gastonia, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Nov. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 326,179 Claims. (Cl. 57156) This invention is a continuation-impart of my co-pending patent application Serial No. 291,332, filed June 28, 1963, and relates to a method of handling and processing webs of textile fibers preparatory to the formation of spun strands therefrom.

It is a well-known fact that the conventionally carded fiber web is easily broken or torn and does not posses sufficient tensile strength to support itself during subsequent fiber working processes such as drafting, combing, roving, spinning and the like. In order to impart the required strength and to otherwise facilitate handling, it has been a long-accepted practice in the textile industry to convert the fiber web into a sliver strand at the delivery of the carding engine and thereafter maintain it in strand form during the following working processes. Between each such working process, the strand has been packaged by coiling it in cans or winding it upon a large number of relatively small holders, each type of pack-aging requiring expensive equipment and machinery as well as numerous manual operations. Moreover, as the conventionally carded web is condensed into a sliver rope or strand, calendered, and coiled into a can, a center core is formed in the sliver strand thereby producing a compacted inner portion which resists blending or mixing with similarly formed sliver strands. Wool slivers are especially susceptible to center core formation since wool fibers mat and felt more readily than most other types of fibrous materials.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method of processing textile fibers wherein the center core formation is substantially eliminated by maintaining the carded fibers in web form during successive drafting or combing operations preparatory to spinning.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method of handling and conveying textile fiber webs passing from the delivery end of one processing machine to the intake end of a succeeding processing machine. Specifically, the method includes two principal series of continuous steps, namely, a first series consisting of continuously depositing the web as delivered from a carding machine upon a travelling strip and winding the strip and web into pack-ages, and a second series consisting of continuously unwinding a plurality of webs in superposed relation from said packages, rewinding the respective strips, drafting the superposed webs into a blended composite web, condensing the latter web into a sliver strand, and spinning the strand.

By continuously handling textile fibers in the abovedescribed manner, it has been possible to obtain improved blending at the delivery of each drafting operation and a higher quality of yarn spun therefrom inasmuch as substantial uniform fiber density is maintained in the webs, prior to, during, and after drafting. Furthermore, the present invention substitutes for conventional cans and coilers, a gentler and more eflicient fiber handling system which eliminates scufling, fiber twist, and the added center core formation which results from over-center coiling in the cans. Thus, the yarn produced from the webs according to my method is upgraded.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view showing a typical series of textile fiber processing machines with which the present invention is related;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the carding and webwinding machine schematically shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view looking at the near side of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view showing a portion of the unwinding, web-blending, drafting, and rewinding machines schematically illustrated as the second and third units of the series in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional detail view taken along the line 55 in FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the unwinding, condensing, and spinning apparatus shown schematically in FIG- URE 1.

Referring more particultrly to the drawings, the numeral 10 broadly designates a carding and winding unit, the numeral 11 an unwinding, web-blending, breaker drawing, and web-winding unit, the numeral 12 an unwinding, webblencling, finisher drawing, and web-winding unit, and the numeral 13 an unwinding, web-condensing, and spinning unit, all of said units being arranged successively in the order shown in FIGURE 1.

During a carding operation, a web 15 of fibers passes from a dotfer cylinder 16 of unit 10, between calender rolls 17, and then onto moving supporting strip 18. The strip and web are then wound upon an arbor 19 into package 20, at which time the strip 18 passes upwardly from roll 18a, over guide roller 25, and then horizontally beneath emerging web 15 and across table 26. The arbor 19 and package 20 thereon are rotated by a variable speed unit 28 at a progressively decreasing rate so as to maintain a substantially constant speed at the periphery of the package, this speed being equal to the linear speed of the web 15 passing from calender rolls 17. Variable speed unit 28 is of conventional construction such as the types described and shown in my aforementioned co-pending patent application.

It will be observed in FIGURE 2 that web 15 is gradually reduced in width by means of convergent guide plates 21 as the web passes from doffer cylinder 16 to calender rolls 17. Although the decreased web width will increase the fiber density and strength, the web 15 does not possess at this stage a suificient tensile strength to support itself during subsequent handling and fiber working processes. Accordingly, the strip 18 is employed for reinforcement and packaging purposes.

The packaged webs 15, after leaving the unit 10, are usually blended and subjected to one or more drafting and combing processes preparatory to forming a spun strand therefrom. For example, the unit 11 (FIGURES l, 4 and 5) may be employed for subjecting a plurality of superposed webs 15 to a blending and breaker drawing process, during which a plurality of packages 26 are simultaneously unwound by applying tension to the websupporting strip 18. The webs 15 are thus drawn over, around and under the respective guide plates 29. At the lower end of the plates 29 (FIGURE 5), the strips 18 and webs 15 are separated from one another, the separated strips being drawn upwardly and rewound around arbors 30 into rolls 31, while the separated webs 15 travel horizontally upon table 32 toward breaker drawing rolls 33. In FIGURES 4 and 5, the separated webs 15 are shown on table 32 in superimposed positions thereby forming a laminated web at the intake of drawing rolls 33.

The materials 15, 18 are unwound from the several packages 20 at identical linear speeds by means of variable speed units 28a respectively. Each unit 28a is drivably connected to an arbor 30 and is adapted to rotate the arbor at a progressively decreasing rate such as will impart a linear take-up speed to strip 18 which is equal to the take-up speed of each of the other strips.

After the laminated web is blended and drafted by breaker drafting rolls 33, it emerges as a web 15a and is deposited upon a strip 18b and wound into package 20a ina manner similar to the previously described winding of package 20; however, package 20a is preferably narrower in width. Stated in detail, the strip 18b is drawn from roll 180 during the formation of package 20a, after which the strip passes upwardly over guide roller 36, then horizontally across table 37 and beneath the web 15a. The package is wound upon an arbor 19a driven by variable speed unit 28b so as to wind web 15a and strip 18b in timed relation to the delivery speed of rolls 33.

If desired, the webs 15a of packages 20a may be further blended and drafted by a unit 12 (FIGURE 1) in a similar manner and by apparatus similar to that described above and shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 during which web packages 20b will be formed (FIGURE 6'). Packages 20!) are similar to the above-described packages 20 and 20a and comprise supporting strip 18d and associatcd fiber web 15b of the desired quality and width for spinning.

Package 20b is unwound at the intake of a spinning frame 3 9 concurrently with the separation of web 15b and strip 18d. As in the previously described unwinding operations, the separated strip 18d is rewound upon an arbor 30a and into roll 18s, while the separated web passes through trumpet 40 and is converted into a rope or strand formation, said strand further passing be tween calender rolls 41, between drafting rolls 42 of the spinning frame, and finally onto a bobbin or cop 43 in the form of a spun strand 44.

In the drawings and specification a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, and although specific terms are employed they are used in a generic sense and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. That method of spinning textile fibers which comprises the steps of: depositing a plurality of carded webs of said fibers respectively upon a plurality of flexible supporting strips, winding each strip and its deposited web into a package, unwinding and separating each of said strips from its deposited web continuously with forming the separated webs into a composite laminated web, imparting a draft to said laminated web to blend the web fibers, winding the blended web and a second supporting strip into a second package, and then unwinding and separating the last-named strip from the blended web continuously with spinning yarn from the latter.

2. That method of spinning textile fibers which comprises the steps of: depositing a plurality of carded Webs of said fibers respectively upon a plurality of flexible supporting strips, winding each strip and its deposited web into a package, unwinding and separating each strip from its deposited web continuously with forming the separated webs into a laminated web, subjecting said laminated web to at least one drafting operation to blend the fibers therein, and then spinning the blended web into a strand of yarn.

3. That method of spinning textile fibers which comprises the steps of: forming a plurality of separate carded webs into a laminated web lap, subjecting said lap to at least one drafting operation to form a blended web, depositing the blended web upon a supporting strip, winding the strip and its deposited web into a package, and then unwinding and separating the strip from the blended web continuously with spinning the web into a strand of yarn.

4. That method of processing textile fibers which comprises the steps of: forming a carded web from said fibers; winding the carded web into a package; continuously unwinding the packaged web, imparting a draft to the web, and winding the drafted web into a second package; and then continuously unwinding said packaged drafted web, forming a sliver from the drafted web, and spinning a yarn from said sliver.

5. That method of processing textile fibers which comprises the steps of: forming a plurality of fiber webs into a laminated web lap; drafting said lap to form a blended web therefrom; winding the blended web into a package while maintaining the successive wound turns thereof in spaced relation; and continuously unwinding said package, forming said blended web into a sliver, and spinning the sliver into yarn.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 46,120 1/1865 Lord et a1 19-10o 630,813 8/1899 Meats 19--243 1,939,525 12/1933 Schmitt 19161 X 1,953,457 4/1934 Baer 2. 19161 2,418,995 4/1947 Thomas et al. 19-65 X 2,565,647 8/1951 Brown et a1. 19-161 2,566,922 9/1951 Brown et a1 19-l61 2,882,673 4/1959 Buddecke 28-21 X 3,120,689 2/ 1964 Drummond 28-21 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,113,723 12/1955 France.

258,873 4/ 1913 Germany.

7,530 1909 Great Britain. 11,276 1888 Great Britain. 498,148 1/ 1939 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner.

J. PETRAKES, Assistant Examiner, 

1. THAT METHOD OF SPINNING TEXTILE FIBERS WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF: DEPOSITING A PLURALITY OF CARDED WEBS OF SAID FIBERS RESPECTIVELY UPON A PLURALITY OF FLEXIBLE SUPPORTING STRIPS, WINDING EAACH STRIP AND ITS DEPOSITED WEB INTO A PACKAGE, UNWINDING AND SEPARATING EACH OF SAID STRIPS FRO ITS DEPOSITED WEB CONTINUOUSLY WITH FORMING THE SEPARATED WEBS INTO A COMPOSITE LAMINATED WEB, IMPARTING A DRAFT TO SAID LAMINATED WEB TO BLEND THE WEB FIBERS, WINDING THE BLENDED WEB AND A SECOND SUPPORTING STRIP INTO A SECOND PACKAGE, AND TEHN UNWINDING AND SEPARATING THE LAST-NAMED STRIP FROM THE BLENDED WEB CONTINUOUSLY WITH SPINNING YAR FROM THE LATTER. 